Shadows Redeemed (Garrison Security Innovations #4)

Chapter 8

CHAPTER EIGHT

PARKER FOLLOWED SAGE INTO their hotel, the night leaning closer to midnight than dinner time. He had reserved his own room when she told him where her team was staying so he could stick close to the investigation. The lobby was quiet, and even the clerk behind the desk seemed like he was about to fall asleep. Parker didn’t blame the man.

“How about a drink?” he asked before they were halfway to the elevators. “I’m not ready to turn in just yet.”

She turned to him, tucking a wisp of red hair behind her ear as she sighed. “It’s been a long night, Parker. I need to check in with the team and see what the plan is now that your brother vanished on them again. And then I just want to get a hot shower and some sleep. I recommend you do the same. Tomorrow’s sure to be another bullshit day.”

He crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head. “Too wound up to sleep. Dinner with your family was good, don’t get me wrong, but I kind of think they judged me the entire time I was there.”

She laughed softly, dropping her gaze to the floor. “They’ve always been a little overprotective of me in the older brother sort of way. Plus, they all work in the security field as well, so judging people is like second nature to them by now. Comes with the job.”

He nodded. “I get it. And I don’t blame them after what my brother put you through. I would have probably spent the night judging me as well.” He cocked his head to the side, a pleading look in his eyes. “After putting me through that, though, you should at least keep me company for one drink. I’ll even buy.”

She stared at him for a moment, and at first, he thought she’d refuse him again. However, after a quick breath in, she gave a curt nod. “Fine.” She held up an index finger. “But only one.”

He grinned at her as he motioned toward the hotel’s bar. “We’ll start with that.”

She rolled her eyes as she dropped her arms to her sides. “One drink.”

He led the fiery redhead to the hotel bar, a slight bounce in his step he couldn’t avoid. She had only agreed to one drink, but he knew he could get her to stay for two once they started talking.

As they slid into seats around a high-top table, he motioned to the server. “What’ll you have?”

“Surprise me.” She looked tired, and he couldn’t blame her. The day had been long, and then to sit through an inquisition at a family dinner made it even longer. To say things were tense would be an understatement. But then again, he had warned her taking him to her family’s house was a bad idea.

He ordered them both a whiskey neat and then settled back in his seat to wait for the drinks. “I forgot how great your family was. I had only met them a few times while you dated my brother.”

She laughed, leaning forward and interlacing her fingers. “They’re definitely something.” As they waited for their drinks, she went on to tell him stories about the five Silver siblings growing up, and he struggled to keep the smile from his face as he listened to her. It was obvious she loved her family, and they loved her.

The server dropped their drinks off in front of them and wished them a good evening. For a moment, they sipped their drinks in silence, the whiskey burning its way down his throat to warm his belly. As they did, he studied Sage’s profile, mesmerized as always by her beauty, but never allowed to comment on it. The soft lighting stressed her high cheekbones and the fullness of her lips, lips he truly wanted to kiss, and her dark green eyes still entranced him after all this time.

“You know, I never got the chance to thank you properly for coming out here to help me.” He leaned forward, one hand still on his glass.

She shrugged a slender shoulder. “I’m just doing my job.”

“This isn’t your job, and you know it. I know my brother didn’t make it easy for you either before you left New Orleans. He could always be a putz, even at the best of times.”

She gave a slow bob of her head. “He’s Jacob. That about sums it up.”

He scoffed. “Jacob’s an ass, and we both know it. It’s like that joke—that’s just how he is, but what they really mean is, he’s a dick but you get used to him.” He took another sip of his drink, the amber liquid burning pleasantly on the way down. “Still, I’m glad you’re here.” A sheepish wave caused him to squirm in his seat. “I’ve missed you. I always enjoyed the times we got to hang out. You always made me laugh.” She also had kept him sexually frustrated, but she didn’t know that. She didn’t need to know that.

She looked away, her gaze focusing on something in the distance over Parker’s shoulder. “You know why I left. I couldn’t stay here.”

He nodded. “Because my brother is a rascal and a class-A prick. He never should have treated you that way. Or let you go.”

“I knew the type of guy he was before I got involved with him.” She twirled her glass in a slow circle in front of her as she stared down at her drink. “I just didn’t get over my bad boy phase before I paid the price.” Glancing back at him, she gave a weak shrug. “However, I still needed to get out of New Orleans, and my friend Marissa provided me the perfect out.”

“So you like working for this G.S.I. company?” While he hoped she had found some happiness after what Jacob did to her, he couldn’t help but wish she had remained there in New Orleans with him. Taking in a deep breath, he realized he truly needed to stop allowing his thoughts to travel down paths he knew he could never travel, no matter how desperately he wanted to.

She nodded. “I do. I’m the only woman out in the field, so it’s almost like having another group of big brothers. Still, we all look out for each other. Abbie runs the office, and Hayley’s our receptionist.”

“How many on the team, exactly? I mean, your brothers do it with just the four of them.”

She laughed. “My brothers run security for people and events. G.S.I. solves crimes and protects people’s information. We train companies how to be more secure, and we’ve even helped solve some cyber blackmail cases.” She shrugged. “It’s a little more involved than simply security.”

He laughed, bobbing his head as he lifted his drink. “Well, here’s to you being happy.”

She lifted her glass in a toast, but the look on her face didn’t exactly lend credibility to the toast. After she finished her drink, she set the glass on the table. “I should go.”

“What? No, wait.” He reached out and caught her arm as she slid out of the chair. “The conversation is just getting started. One more. Then we’ll call it a night. Promise.”

She stared at him through narrowed eyes for several heartbeats, and he thought she was about to turn him down. Then, finally, she sighed and settled back onto her stool. “Fine. One more drink. But you’re still buying.”

Relief coursed through him as he settled back in his seat, relaxing slightly. “You got it.”

He signaled the bartender for two more whiskeys, and then they settled back on their stools and the conversation continued. As they nursed their drinks, he couldn’t keep his eyes off her, wanting to reach out and take her hand in his. He wondered what she would do if he did. Probably snap his fingers.

As the evening wore on, they talked more about her family, Sage giving him an update about her brother’s business and how her mom had taken up trying to learn the piano just to have something to do, as well as trying to learn French. It moved from there to his parents and the cruise they just took. And before he knew it, they were on their third drink.

When the bartender announced last call, Parker didn’t want the night to end, and still couldn’t believe she had hung out with him for so long. He paid the tab and then escorted her to the elevators.

When he stepped off the elevator with her, she turned to him, one brow raised. “Where do you think you’re going?”

He pointed down the hall. “To my room. When you said you were staying here, I reserved a room for myself, so I could be close while we looked for Jacob.” He then gave a sheepish shrug. “I also asked them to put my room close to yours, thinking it would be quicker. I’m on the same floor, right around the corner.”

She didn’t look like she believed his reasoning, but didn’t argue. Instead, she headed down the hall to her room, Parker hurrying to catch up to her. His shoulder brushed hers as he reached her, sending tingles sparkling along his nerves.

All too soon, they reached her room, and he sighed that it was time to leave her side—the last thing he wanted to do. The night was perfect, even if the reason for her being there was not.

Pausing at her door, she turned to face him, her face wearing an unreadable expression. “Thank you… for tonight. I guess I hadn’t realized how tense I was. The distraction was good. I needed it.”

He had stepped closer to her, not meaning to, but not wanting to back up now either. He aimed for a casual tone, though his heart felt anything but calm. “Anytime. You know I’ve always enjoyed your company. And I enjoyed the night as well. It was a great break during all this bullshit.”

Their gazes locked, tension crackling between them like a live wire. His pulse thundered in his ears as he searched her eyes, looking for any sign that she felt the same way. Slowly, giving her every chance to stop him if he read things wrong, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers.

For one eternal moment, everything else fell away—his brother, the threat of the Broussards, the entire world. There was only the softness of Sage’s mouth moving with his, her fingers curling into the front of his shirt. He slid one hand around to the nape of her neck, angling her head as he deepened the kiss with a low groan.

Then Sage tore away from him with a harsh gasp, pushing him away from her as she stared at him with wild, reproachful eyes. Before he could react, she fumbled for her key card and wrenched open her door, disappearing quickly into the shadowed interior of her room.

“Sage, wait! I’m sorry.” He moved to catch the door before it closed.

But it was too late. The door slammed in his face, followed by the firm click of the lock engaging. Running a shaky hand through his disheveled hair, he blew out a hard breath. He could still feel the warmth of her lips against his, and the fact she didn’t pull away sooner or even slap his face when he tried it told him she had wanted it as much as he did. At least, at first. He didn’t regret kissing her, not with the way she kissed him back.

You’re playing with fire, old boy. But did he really care? If there was one thing he had in common with his brother, it was pushing aside caution when something he desired was close enough to grasp.

He stared at her door, grinning from ear to ear. “One way or another, Sage Silver. You’ll see we’re meant to be together.”

Squaring his shoulders, he practically bounced toward his own room, savoring the memory of her lips on his. He paused at his door, staring down the hallway toward her room, as if he could see it around the corner. Could there be a chance for the two of them? Was he even wrong for wanting something with his brother’s ex?

He sighed as he turned and slipped his key card into the door. If he was wrong, he didn’t care.

Stepping inside, he flicked on the light, already reaching for the buttons on his shirt, eager for a hot—or perhaps cold—shower. However, as he stepped past the bathroom into the main part of the room, he froze, his mouth open, heart pounding as he stared at the man sitting in the desk chair. “Jacob?”

His brother grinned at him. “Hope you don’t mind, but I let myself in.” He held a towel to his shoulder. A bloody towel. “I could really use your help with this.”